It is tempting to believe that a good subject will make for a good photograph. That all we need is a beautiful tree, a grand vista, or a stunning mountain peak. But I believe this isn’t enough: we need to pay attention to every inch, every pixel, of our image; to see beyond the subject. Otherwise, we might end up with an image that doesn’t do justice to that amazing subject we’ve found.
All the elements we decide to include in our images should be there for a reason. The subject is the main character of the story, but everything else should give it more meaning than it’d have otherwise.
But even more importantly than the elements we show are the ones we leave out. Those things that were distracting, taking away from what we were trying to say with our image.
When I compose an image, I keep an eye on the subject. I also keep two eyes on the foreground, five on the edges of the frame -making sure there are no distractions-, and ten on the background — ensuring the elements in there play nicely with everything else.
If the image doesn’t work, it might be a matter of choosing a different time of the day, or an entirely different season. As photographers, we need to be able to see the potential — but also to recognize when a scene just doesn’t work, no matter how beautiful the subject might be.
Look beyond the subject, pay attention to everything that is making its way into your frame, and what you are leaving out. Don’t overthink your composition, but don’t overlook it.
photographing Don Quixote’s giants in La Mancha
I just got back from an amazing week in La Mancha. There, I had the opportunity to photograph the old windmills that Cervantes made famous in his Don Quixote novel, some 400 years ago. I poured my heart into this “project”, and I’m very happy with the video and the images I made there.
new images
Thank you so much for being there one more week,
Adrian